


Glück Auf -Tales from the Eastern Theater

by R4ndom5tuff



Series: Glück Auf -Tales from the Eastern Theater [1]
Category: Senjou no Valkyria | Valkyria Chronicles
Genre: Chiara Rocino might appear if you wait long enough, Drama, I suck at tagging, Klaus Walz might appear, Other, Theres also a gap between July 5th and September 2nd, War, Why does VC4 have such a big timegap, like holy shit almost nothing happens between March 10th and July 5th
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-01-31 00:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21437269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R4ndom5tuff/pseuds/R4ndom5tuff
Summary: The Year is 1936. Imperial Forces have crossed the border and attacked the Federation. After around two months, the Imperial Army finally gets pushed back at the beginning of operation Northern Cross, eventually forcing them back into their own territory. Among the soldiers fighting on this front are the men of the 6th Imperial Mountain Artillery Battery under the command of Major Valentin Martinek.
Series: Glück Auf -Tales from the Eastern Theater [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1545478
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1: Glück Auf

February 23rd 1935, somewhere near Deventer

It was quiet. A bit too quiet for Valentins taste. A Federation-Base should be nearby, yet there was almost no activity. He sighed and looked through his binoculars again. Everything was still the same, except some puddles that had formed during the rain. Still no sign of any Federation soldiers… Valentin thought it was odd. He shrugged and then lowered his binoculars, stepping down from the rock. "Hopefully they are done with the preparations when i get back…", he thought to himself as he made his way back to the camp.

Two months...it had been almost two months since the Empire they had crossed the borders of the Atlantic Federation, laying waste to what- and whoever dared to stand in the way. Considering that it hadn't been that long, the offensive went pretty smoothly so far. Summer was still far away and they already had captured more than a quarter of the quarter of the Federations territory. At the beginning, he and the others from the 10th Mountain Artillery Regiment had been pressed into service as frontline artillery due to the lighter weight of their guns, which made them easier to move around, but since they had reached the mountain ranges in the south, they started fighting in the environment their equipment was actually made for. Valentin was still a bit disappointed about the lack of specialized mountain troops on the other side. He had seen what Federation Troops are capable during his time as a military attaché and with the right training some of them would make fine mountain troops... he should probably be glad, that that wasn't the case though. If it was, this whole operation would be an awful lot more difficult. He still felt like this was all a bit too easy…

Maybe the Federation wasn't as quick at mobilizing all the troops as the Empire was. Maybe it was an elaborate plan of the Federation to lure the Imperial Forces into a trap. Valentin didn't know, and quite frankly, he didn't care either. In either case, it wasn't his task to think about that. All he had to do, was defeating the enemy in his sector. At least until new orders arrived. Speaking of which, hadn't Bauer said something about a message from HQ a bit earlier? Valentin stood up and walked out of his tent to get to the communications-trench. On his way he saw some soldiers that were patrolling and greeted them and not long after, he hopped into the trench. Just a few more steps through the muddy mess and he would be there. Personally he would prefer it, if they had placed some planks on the ground, but trees were scarce up here. After another minute or two, he had reached his destination.

The man working at the radio, Corporal Bauer, noticed him and quickly stood up to greet him. "Major Martinek." he said. No saluting or anything else Valentin would refer to as "groveling". He had told the men, which served under him to ignore that if no one else was around. "Corporal Bauer….any news from the Head Quarters? I remember hearing that you have a message…" Valentin said. "Nothing important. Orders are still the same, but the brass wants to get the 7th Battery transferred to a new division. They will even get some new howitzers, since they will have to leave their guns here. Heard from a friend, that some folks in R&D decide to put howitzers on tank-chassis, so that might be what they will get…" Bauer responded. That was good to know, Valentin would have to take that into consideration in the future. With another battery gone, it would just be them and the 8th. At least they would have plenty of ammunition now…

February 27th 1935, somewhere near Deventer

Valentin looked at the map the Colonel gave him earlier. The Scouts had located the base a few kilometers away, just a bit outside of the range of the 150mm guns. That meant that some of the guns had to be brought onto nearby mountains, which should allow them to open fire on the outpost. Two howitzers from the 6th and 2 from the 8th were supposed to be moved onto a mountain on the left flank while the smaller 75mm guns would be relocated onto a plateau near the base. Valentin had heard that HQ wanted this war to be over within the next two months, therefor it was necessary to force the Atlantic Federation to capitulate as soon as possible. Valentin still had his doubts about the whole operation, but it was not like his opinion mattered to anyone in the General Staff. He was just a lowly officer from one of the less prestigious branches of the Imperial Army, and even in the artillery branch, the mountain troops were not held in high regards. So all he could do was wait for the inevitable to happen. This war was still going to easy… Valentin couldn't help but feel uneasy about this whole thing. Something was about to happen and Valentin feared that it might be the Empire who will draw the short straw…

He sighed and looked at the map again. He couldn't worry about that with an operation underway. For now, he had to shove his doubts aside and concentrate on attacking the base. The terrain was favourable, from the gun positions they would have a good view. With a forward observer that scouts ahead of the advancing infantry, it would be an easy task to eliminate any threats that could potentially turn the tide of battle in favour of the Federations. After quickly glancing over the map one last time, Valentin got up. Time to report to the Colonel and ask for his approval of his plans.


	2. Chapter 2: Three for one

February 25th 1935, Gunposition "Hill 228", somewhere near Deventer

Valentin looked through his binoculars. The outlines of the base could be seen, but the fog was a bit too thick to see anything in detail. At least that also meant that the garrison wasn't able to see them up here. It had taken a while to get the guns up there, longer than initially planned. If they had received mules prior to the operation, it would have been a lot easier, but Valentin knew well enough that you can't really expect any special requests to be granted in a war. He wondered if the other team had similar thoughts. The howitzers were a bit larger than their guns after all, so there had been a few more parts after disassembling them. But everything was better than to use regular field artillery up here. One could say about their equipment what they wanted, but the mountain guns they had received recently surely were some nice additions to their arsenal…

The need for dedicated mountain artillery had first been noticed during the previous war, when the regular howitzers and siege mortars had proven to be a pain in the ass to move around in the mountains. The new guns from Krimm have been specifically built with the conditions of this type of warfare in mind: lightweight, easy to assemble and disassemble and the option to swap out barrels easily and quickly. While it was able to fire the imperial standard caliber of 76.2mm, a single barrel change enabled it to use enemy ammunition if there was enough available. This feature was implemented into the gun, so enemy depots could be raided for suitable ammunition, when the supply lines were stretched out. Valentin was glad that they had received these guns, especially after they had used the old ones during training.

Valentins thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of the FOs voice coming through the radio. "Batteries 6 and 8, here Forward Observer. Enemy defences consist of a small trench and a few watchtowers with machine guns. No heavy weaponry like at-guns." Valentin grinned. That was good news. AT-guns might not be as destructive as dedicated artillery, but they could cause problems for attacking infantry nonetheless. After checking the map again, he went through what the FO had said and marked the targets on it. Once the watchtowers, which probably were armed with machine guns, were taken out, the infantry should be able to take out the defenders easily, especially with support from their guns. He then gave Bauer the signal to inform the infantry while looking at his pocket watch. 07:43. 17 more minutes until the attack. Valentin looked around. Some of the men did some last-minute checks on the guns. Meanwhile Ulmayer and Kramer stood next to the ammunition cart and played Bowling with some spent shell casings as stand-in for pins. Those two where always a bit more carefree than the rest of the men. Ulmayer had been in prison prior to the war, and Valentin had heard, that he believed there wasn't anything to lose for him. Kramer was nearly blind without his glasses and Ulmayer didn't even bother to clean his carbine, so Valentin doubted that he'd bother to properly clean the gun. Instead he had tasked them with bringing ammunition to the guns.

He then diverted his attention towards the map again. He still had second thoughts. Something just has to go wrong at one point. With a sigh he looked at his pocket watch again. 11 minutes. He tried to calm himself down. That was just the usual pre-battle-pessimism, like always. Valentin breathed in and out. He was going to make it through this. It was just a lightly manned base…

"All guns fire! If the tanks get any closer were going to lose the infantry!" Valentin was practically glued to the radio. After the reports of the FO turned out to be wrong, improvisation was needed. One of the tanks already fell victim to their guns due to a lucky shot, since the fog blocked their sight and they therefor had to rely on the FO for guidance, but the other three kept pushing one. If only they had issued lances before this attack… but both both him and Lindtmann had agreed that they would just slow the troops down. And neither of them had expected tanks either, after all. "Martinek?" he would suddenly hear Lindtmanns voice from the radio. "Yes Colonel Lindtmann?" "Start firing at the ground before the tanks. Try to get closer with each shot. If that causes them to slow down a bit, we might be able to fire right into their formation." "Affirmative, Colonel Lindtmann." Valentin replied. He then turned around. "Attention! Change of plans, we will try to lure the tanks into a trap. From now on, adjust the guns to shoot in front of them!" "Yes Sir!" came the reply.

After the first few volleys, he heard the FOs voice. "Are you nuts? Shoot at the tanks goddamnit!" Valentin ignored the man. He prayed to whatever might hear him that this worked. Those guns might be effective against moving target when shooting at them directly, but with high angle fire like they had to shoot now, combined with the rather slow muzzle velocity due to the short barrels, it was a different story. He sighed. Even if it went right, he'd have to rely on the FO to find out the results. Just as he was thinking that, he heard the FO again. When you speak of the devil. "Tank down! I repeat, Tank down!" Valentin grinned. Only two more two go… "The other tanks flipped over too! Thank the Valkyrur, were saved!" So much to that then… now onto their original objective…


	3. Chapter 3: Straightening the Front

March 1st 1935, Federation supply base, somewhere near Deventer

After the base had been taken, it had taken a while for reinforcements to arrive. The infantry involved in the attack had paid dearly for the lack of info on the tanks, 2 men had lost their lives and there were 13 wounded, with some probably not able to return back to their unit anytime soon. Their commander, Lieutenant Kehlers, a rather young man who, according to some intel from Bauer, had only gotten his position due to his father's influence, had been furious and left out no chance to remind him and any of the other how much "he" contributed to this victory. Valentin hadn't listened at all, for what he cared, Kehlers could take the glory and the praise for the whole operation. The base was taken, that's all that mattered. He had even been able to scavenge a new pair of boots from the supplies, much to his delight. Valentin had always been prone to blisters and his previous ones had somehow tripled his chances of getting them.

The rumor regarding Kehlers father reminded him a bit about his early career, when people had thought similar things about him. When he had started out as platoon commander after leaving the military academy, many of his peers didn't like because they thought that he'd had it easier than them, due to his father. But as much as his father could have eased his way, that option became unavailable when Valentin had decided to join the artillery instead of the armoured train units like his father wanted him to. His father had commanded an armoured train on the Federation Front during the previous war and he probably had such a dislike for artillery because of Valentins mother. But Valentin had made his choice at that point and when he later made the course for mountain warfare, it further strayed him away from the path his father desired for him. Even though his father was completely disappointed of his decision, that didn't mean that they broke contact. They still were family after all…

Valentin had thought about what might have changed if in his life if he had gone for the route as armoured train crewman. He probably would have seen less combat. The tank had replaced them as the main fear factor for infantry during the last war, the high command mostly used them for guarding railways and transport duties nowadays. The higher cost compared to tanks, combined with their restrictions had rendered them as pretty obsolete for their original role. Valentin believed that he would probably only be assigned to one of the trains used for transporting supplies and troops. Definitely a lot more different than where he was now and probably quieter…

But it was not like the the last few days had been full of action either, since after the capture of the base, the orders had changed. Now the base should be put back into working order, which meant that they had dug up a trench for defensive purposes and repaired some of the damage from the battle, that. HQ wanted to use this supply base as starting point for further advances in the south. Valentin didn't care much about this whole situation, he normally was one of the last people to get informed, after all. So it wasn't like he was able to achieve any changes in a plan, if HQ had decided something. He was just some lowly officer, he didn't matter much in the grand scheme…

He then read through the report again. It seemed that the tanks had been fresh reinforcements. The reports also mentioned, that something called "Operation Northern Cross" should result in a crippling defeat for the Empire, which Valentin found quite amusing, considering how the war had went so far. The report also went on about how they would receive fresh troops and that troops from the United Kingdom of Edinburgh would act as a Vanguard. Initially he had believed that this report could be something important, but Colonel Lindtmann had told him to ignore it for now. With roughly a third of Federation territory under imperial occupation, it probably was just some propaganda to boost the morale of the troops to avoid mass desertions. HQ probably had more important things to do than reading Federation-Propaganda at the moment...

March 5th 1935, Imperial Supply base, Ypern

As soon as the train stopped, Valentin stepped out of the waggon and headed towards the officers quarters. Hopefully somebody in the conference room was able to explain the situation to him, because the retreat order they had received yesterday made no sense in his opinion. Maybe Colonel Lindtmann or one of the other officers knew the reason. He ignored a saluting Lieutenant as he headed down the hallway before he reached the door of the conference room. He knocked and entered shortly after. Much to his surprise, the room was empty except the furniture and some maps and papers, which were lying on the table. Valentin sighed before he left the building. Might as well look for some NCO to dig for some information. He looked around until he saw a group of men from the infantry. Before he was able to approach them, one of them noticed him and after informing the other two, they saluted. Valentin gestured them to come closer, which they did. "May i ask you a couple of questions?" "Yes, Sir." one of them, a Sergeant, replied. "Do any of you know why there suddenly are retreat-orders?" Valentin asked him. "Yes, Sir. High Command ordered to pull back all troops that were in danger of getting encircled. The Federal Army started a massive counterattack that broke through the defenses of Army Group. Federation troops are pushing us back towards our own borders."


	4. Chapter 4: The Arrival

March 6th 1935, Imperial Supply base, Ypern

Valentin waited for the conference to end. From what he had heard, Lieutenant General Lemore had called for an emergency meeting, so every officer who commanded everything up from a Brigade was in there at the moment. The Federations counter attack had caught High Command by surprise and at the moment every Army Group had received orders to regroup while the reserves were mobilized. Valentin just hoped that there weren't any other surprises like that. He then looked at his pocket watch. 20 minutes already… he certainly wasn't of any use here so he might as well take a walk in the meantime…

If someone had observed the behavior of the troops, they probably wouldn't have guessed, that the Empire had almost lost half of its territorial gains already. It seems like Valentins doubts had been right. The troops of the United Kingdom of Edinburgh certainly had lived up to their reputation. During his time as military attache prior to the war, his Federation "colleagues" had praised the abilities of their troops, especially of the so called "Armoured Ranger Corps". He even received permission to observe a few mock-battles between a couple of Squads. From what he had seen, they seemed to be a rather well trained and disciplined force, for the most part. Valentin still thought that they had ulterior motives when they had offered him to watch them. Probably to show off. Or maybe they thought, it would convince him to desert. His mother had been a Federation officer during the first war, so maybe that helped a bit as well.

Valentin had found it pretty ironic how the "enemy" had treated him better because of that part of his heritage than his comrades back in the military academy. To be fair, there still had been a couple of comments regarding his father's role in the Imperial Invasion, as well as the expected distrust due to him being a potential spy, but it was nothing compared to his first year in the academy. Half the people disliked him because they thought he was just there due to his father's connections, the other half disliked him for being the son of a former Federation officer. Quite honestly, Valentin preferred gaining the little trust his federation peers had through attending dinners and talking about the theoretical possibilities of mountain warfare than what he had gone through in the academy…

After around five minutes, Valentin went back. Not much had changed, the two NCOs from the 4th Heavy Tank Brigade were still arguing about something and that Sergeant Major with the mustache was still searching for Lance Corporal Schallegger. Valentin had seen the him drinking with some Privates before the conference had started, but he certainly wasn't going to tell the mans superior officer about that. He walked down the hallway to the Officer's mess and entered. After taking a quick glance to see who was in, he decided to sit down next to Lieutenant Kehlers after he spotted him. Valentin now took a closer look at the other officers in the room. Two men from the navy, some infantry officers, a woman who he had seen a couple of times already and man from the airship-corps. From what he had heard, the woman had connections to the General Staff, which would explain why she was a First Lieutenant despite her age. If Valentin had to guess, he'd say that she was around 20. Not that he was any different in that regard, on paper his career was pretty impressive, after all…

Graduation from the military academy with 22, promotion to First Lieutenant and then Captain at ages 24 and 25 respectively, just two months later he was sent to the Federation as a military attaché, where he stayed for 19 months and then the promotion to Major when he returned four months ago. Valentin was well aware, that the sole reason for that were his father's connections to some high ranking officers, so he didnt even thought about bragging.

"Lieutenant Kehlers, why did you join the Army?" Valentin then asks. "Pardon?" The question seemed to have caught him by surprise."Let me rephrase that. What was your motivation to enlist?" "Oh. Well Major Martinek, there is no greater way to serve the Empire than defending it." Kehlers replied. "Why do you ask?" "Oh. Nothing important. I just want to know a bit more about the men i fight with." Valentin told him. "I see… why did you join, if i may ask?" Kehlers then asked. "Hm… well, i think it was mostly due to my father. He always talked about the war when i was younger. How great it was to fight alongside men you can depend on. I think that might have influenced my decision." Valentin said. Both men then remained silent. Valentin tried to think of a topic to keep the conversation alive. "Sooo…. Uhm… What do you think of the recent events?" "I would prefer to not talk about such a subject at the moment. Now, if you excuse me, i think i will check on my men." Kehlers replied as he stood up and made his way to the door. "Acknowledged." That certainly went well, Valentin thought to himself, while the other man left. He then looked around. The officers from the infantry probably wouldn't mind if he sat with them. Just as he was about to walk over to them, someone abruptly opened the door. Valentin turned his head to see who the new arrival was, when said person practically yelled. "You wont believe this! The 12th Regiment is here!" The man certainly sounded excited. Much to Valentins surprise, all of the infantry officers immediately stood up and left the room. Even the lone officer of the Airship-Corps stood up and was on his way out. "Pardon me Sir, but why is everyone so crazy about this 12th Regiment?" Valentin asked him. "They are just referring to the volunteers from Skanderfjäll, the 12th Armoured Royal Cavalry Regiment. You haven't heard of them before?"


	5. Chapter 5: A new Front?

March 6th 1935, Imperial Supply base, Ypern

"You haven't heard of them before?" "No, not really. Who are they?" Valentin asked. "Well, as i said, they are volunteers from the Kingdom of Skanderfjäll. A couple of officers decided that they wanted to join the war and it seems like he king allowed it. Apparently they even got permission to use their equipment. But officially, the entire regiment and their commander are extremists who deserted, since the king and most of the government would prefer to stay neutral like in the first war." the man explained. Valentin wasn't sure what rank he had and decided to look up the ranks of the Strategic Aerial Transportation-Corps, as the Airship-Corps was officially known. "I see… and why were those men so excited?" "Well, you see, they fought pretty brave already. Their tanks held of half a Federation Infantry Brigade at a bridge near Braytfield for around thirty minutes and gave our troops the chance to safely withdraw from the area. Afterwards, they lured a Federation tank company into a minefield, which enabled our folks to blow up around two thirds of them. Besides, they have different uniforms, weapons and vehicles, so they are bound to stand out wherever they go and catch people's interest." "Ah. I see. That makes sense… anyways, thank you for your time." "No problem." the man said while he left the room.

Valentin made a mental note to check out their equipment at one point. Skanderfjäll had been in no war for the past 2 centuries, yet they kept their army wellfunded from what he had heard. Despite not being tested in any major conflicts yet, their weaponry gets regarded as on par with foreign designs due to the high production standards their companies are well known for, as well as the high quality of their steel and alloys. They also try to keep up with the latest military trends, the most famous example being their tank-prototypes they experimented with only 4 months after the Empires first tanks rolled onto the battlefield. All this probably resulted in interesting equipment. Valentin then thought about approaching either the girl or the two navy-officers to talk a bit, but ultimately decided to leave and look at those skanderfjällian troops, since he had the oportunity. He walked past the mustached Sergeant Major, who seemed to still be on the lookout for that Lance Corporal, turned left and stepped out of the building.

Normally, finding a smaller unit like a regiment in a base as big as the southern supply base would have been a pretty difficult task. Well, normally a regiment wouldn't be surrounded by what appeared to be a quarter of the bases garrison, so it turned out to be easier than expected. Now he just had to think of a way to get past the masses of soldiers. Preferably without playing the "officer-card". Seeing a nearby watchtower, Valentin hatched an idea. There probably were binoculars up there. Not wasting any time, Valentin climbed up the ladder and walked around the platform until he noticed a chest. He opened it and rummaged through its contents until he found some binoculars. Now he just had to focus on the center….

The first things that caught his attention were the tanks. They were roughly the same size as the medium tanks used by their own forces, but a bit shorter. Right of the bat, Valentin noticed a few differences,mainly the lack of hull mortar and that the turret was larger. It still had a hull mounted machine gun, contrary to the Federations tanks. The turret probably was bit larger as the ones of its Federation and Imperial Counterparts to house the main gun, which was longer as well and it seemed like it had a coaxial heavy machine gun, judging by the size of the machine guns barrel. Valentin also noticed a lack of side skirts, which enabled him to get a good view of the running gear. It looked a lot simpler than the ones used by imperial and federation designs, only consisting of 5 large road wheels and the usual idler and drive wheels. This probably was a lot easier to work with, if it had to be repaired in the field. Right now, the tank spotted a camouflage scheme consisting of green, brown and beige. Valentin fought this was rather odd, since the Soldiers stood out among the crowd with their deep blue coats and their golden armour plates . This outfit certainly wasn't the right choice if you wanted to hide. The weapons on the other hand looked pretty nice. Much to Valentins confusion, they seemed to be armed entirely with regular rifles and sniper rifles. No lances, no machine guns… it was rather odd. Upon closer inspection he noticed some strange metal bars at the underside of some rifles, but other than that, there was nothing noteworthy. Valentin made a mental note to ask them about it at one point. After making sure there really was nothing else to be seen, he put down the binoculars, climbed down and walked back to the hes mess.

Much to his surprise, the first thing Valentin noticed was the presence of Colonel Lindtmann, as well as a couple of other officers Valentin didn't recognize. They appeared to have a conversation, so Valentin left the room and waited outside. "Quite busy in there, isn't it?" asked someone to his left. "I guess…" Valentin turned to his left and noticed, that a Master Sergeant was standing next to him. "Any idea why they changed from the conference room to the officers mess?" Valentin asked the man. "Well, if i had to guess, its because of the drinks, they serve in there." the man replied. "Well, that and that they probably already decided, which units they will send as reinforcements for the invasion." "Invasion? What Invasion?" Valentin tilted his head a bit. "Oh, you haven't heard of it? The Crown Prince is preparing an Invasion to secure the Ragnite in Gallia. They already sent him a couple of units of the Guard, a couple of tank brigades, massive infantry formations and, from what i overheard, even a superheavy tank." "Oh… so we're opening another front…." Valentin gulped. Looks like things were about to get even more..... interesting...


	6. Chapter 6: Reassignment

March 6th 1935, Imperial Supply base, Ypern

"Yes, that is true Major Martinek. But there is nothing to be worried about, that the High Command has everything under control." Colonel Lindtmann said as he rolled out the map. "Lieutenant General Lemore already informed us about the new defensive plan. The new front will be pulled back towards the forts on the border, with Premsel, Krest, Strack and Lussarn acting as headquarters for their respective sectors and receiving reinforcements in form of the new 210mm howitzers." Valentin just sighed. "And there is absolutely no possibility of the Gallians aligning themselves with the Federation?"t "Unlikely, given Gallias foreign policy. They might supply the Federration with some Ragnite, but they definitely won't allow Federation troops to enter their territory to aid in the defence. Besides, the Prince will get assistance of several High Ranking officers, so the Gallians should be no match for our forces." Colonel Lindtmann explained while he put a few chess pieces on the map. "The forts might receive additional guns, but artillery will be located on the front nonetheless. Our last two remaining batteries will get reinforced by the remaining forces of the mountain infantry to form a "mixed Regiment" and will provide firesupport on the front in the sector around Premsel. Any questions?" Valentin looked at the map. "Why are we getting sent to the northern sector?" "Lieutenant General Lemore told me, that our mountain guns are the only ones suitable for the terrain there. The heavier field guns would be difficult to move around." Lindtmann replied. "Anything else?" "Not really." "That would be everything then. Let your men know. We will get redeployed in three hours, so they should pack their things."

March 8th 1935, 3rd Federal Mechanized Infantry Battalion, Stavern

Everything was quiet inside the tent. Nobody dared to speak as much as a word until Harold had finished his tea. The men and women serving under him knew him well enough to remain silent until he had his morning tea. After he took the last sip, he placed his cup on the desk. "Gentleman, i have superb news. We finally pushed the Imps back into their own country. However, as most you already know, this is just the beginning..." Harold stood up and stuck his Knife into the map on the desk. "Our next target will be Kijell. Since the enemy is busy with trying to hold off the Second Army Group, we are tasked with pushing forward to apply some additional pressure on the northern part of the front. Our Battalion will be vital to this operation, since our goal is to bind as many enemy forces as possible to smoothen the path for the 101st Division. Due to the terrain, tanks will be of rather little use, so i would suggest ditching them for this operation. Any questions?" As usual, he didn't wait for an answer. "Good. You may inform your troops now. Preparations have to be finished until tomorrow at 0825. Oh, before i forget it again, there's something i have to discuss with you, Lieutenant Dorn."

While everyone left the room, Dorn patiently waited. "You know why i asked you to stay?" "Yes, Major Jonakin." "Good. I assume you talked some sense into her?" "Yes, Mayor Jonakin." "Good. I hope for her and your sake, that this won't happen again. I have nothing against bravery, but there's a thin line between bravery and stupidity, one that Sergeant Foucault seems to cross too often…anyways, you may leave now." Harold just waved him off while he turned around, staring at the map. "Hm… if we moved a bit more to the north…" He grinned. "Yes. Perfect. I can already imagine how much glory i will gain by capturing it…"

March 9th 1935, Fort Premsel

Valentin surely got pleasantly surprised. The commander of the fortress, Colonel Berneustatt, had turned out to be an old acquaintance of his father. He had talked briefly with the man after he and Colonel Lindtmann had reported to his office. After hearing his name, the man invited him to stay for a while to talk, an invitation Valentin gladly accepted, after he had put his few belongings in his new quarters.

The man mostly wanted to know how "the old bastard is holding up", to which Valentin only replied that he hadn't had the opportunity to send any letters since they had been in Federation territory for the past month. After pouring Valentin and himself a generous glass of some sort of strong honey liquor, which left a burning aftertaste with a just enough of a slight hint of sweetness for Valentin to drink another glass with the man, Colonel Berneustatt started talking about the old times, which, to no one's surprise, were his experiences during the war. Apparently he had served as a cannoneer on the famous armoured train "Terror of Ternick", which had been crucial during the defense of said city. During the last three months of EW I, it was commandeered by Joachim Martinek, Valentins father and apparently the Colonel had even saved his life on one occasion by blowing up an AT-gun, which had set its sights on the command cart. He then began to complain about his direct superiors, who prevented him from getting promoted, at least from his point of view. While it certainly was interesting to hear some stories of the past, Valentin eventually asked if he could report back to his unit. Not because he didn't like it but because it just felt wrong… sitting there, talking with a superior officer while the war was raging on...

Marth 9th 1935, Federation Camp, somewhere in the Premsel Sector

Christopher looked at the map in front of him. He still wasn't sure why Major Jonakin had changed the plan, but there probably was a reason. The new target, some random military installation, was around 12 miles away from Kijell. Not that Christopher would complain, an orders an order after all. He then folded the map and laid down on his cot. One thing was sure. Tomorrow would be one hell of a fight...


	7. Chapter 7: Premsel

March 10th 1935, somewhere near Fort Premsel

Paul ran towards the trench. He had heard the sound of artilleryfire a couple of times already, but whatever this thing was, it had to be bigger than anything that ever shot at him. Step by step, meter by meter, he inched forward, he kept pushing until he had finally reached the small hole on the other side of the field. Paul was to afraid to stand up and look, the enemy artillery and infantry operated with deadly efficiency. First machineguns had lured them into the safety of a nearby trench and only seconds after, whatever the big gun was, had fired at them, followed by a couple of other cannons. Paul then looked around. "Wait a second…." he said to himself realizing what had happened. The moment Paul heard the gun firing again, he knew it was over…

March 10th 1935, position Gun 3 of the 6th mountain artillery battery, Upper sector of Fortress Premsel

"Thats another one down" yelled Kramer. Or at least Valentin thought that that was what he meant, but to be fair, it was rather difficult to hear with the hearing protection on. He simply waved at Bauer so he could send out the confirmation to the headquarters. He then looked through his scissor scope and began to pat agains the shoulder of Verbien to signal him to reaim the gun. "To the left...more to the left...stop! Target, 300, large trench." "Target found sir!" came the reply from Verbien. "Fire as soon as soldiers enter the trench." "Affirmitive Sir!" Valentin nodded and went back to Bauer.

"Any news from the other guns, Corporal?" Bauer raised his indexfinger and turned towards the radio. "One moment." After three minutes he turned back towards Valentin "Sergeant Rash claims 10 men and an APC with 16 shells, Lieutenant Böhler claims 2 tanks with 9 shells and Sergeant Major Lanz claims no hits at all due to no enemy troops within range." Valentin nodded. Two tanks, an APC and two and a half squads with 43 shells fired...that wasnt too bad. Especially with all the leftover ammunition from the base. Those feds would probably run out of men before they run out of shells…

March 10th 1935, somewhere near Fort Premsel

Christopher looked at the map. If they followed the path for a bit longer, they should eventually reach an opening from which they should be able to reassemble and set up the infantry gun and fire at the fortress. Carrying its parts through all those bushes and up the cliff had been one hell of a torture, but luckily the Imps seemed like they had left the dried up river unguarded. Probably because they thought nobody would come through here, considering it would be impossible to get a tank down here, but Christopher didnt that much. The Imps should do what the Imps thought they should do. As long as he and his men didnt get shot at or anything like that, he wouldnt care. He looked at the path in front of him. Just a bit more…

After around 10 minutes, Christopher climbed up a ramp, that had naturally formed due to earthslides. It might not be optimal, but it was enough to get out of the riverbed. Before he climbed out completely, he extended his lucky periscope and searched the nearby area. Once he was sure that everything was clear, he pulled himself over the edge and sprinted towards a nearby bush. While the rest of his fireteam followed him one by one, he put the periscope into his left breast pocket, right were it belonged. It was then, when he realized how close they were already. Twohundred, maybe even just onehundredfifty meters…

Sure, considering the usual figthing distances, the fortress seemed to be far away, but the infantry guns that had been produced by the Roeselarean Federal Arsenal during the previous war had been made with exactly such engagements in mind. While considerably less accurate than their larger cousins on tanks, they packed a bigger punch then lances, at least explosionwise, which made them perfect to deal with entrenched enemies. While officially out of service since the late 20s, it was still in use with some militias and Federal Border Guard units as a light support weapon… which they quickly traded for a few lances since they were desperate for anti tank weaponry.

"Private Roullande, start with reassemblying the gun" "Already on it, Lieutenant." While Roullande began to prepare the gun, Christopher looked through his binoculars to check the area. In the fortress itself weren't that many troops, from what he could see there were mostly men from the empires artillery-branch, based on the lacking amount of armour. Most of the forts garrison was probably spread out in the surounding area. The commanding officer probably was confident in his troops ability to repel any enemy attacks…

But there was something else caught his attention. A giant artillery piece on a tracked chassis. It was unlike any other gun he had ever seen...this gun was placed on what looked like the hull of a tank. Maybe some imperial secret weapon...if they were able to capture it, maybe it would deal a serious blow to the Empire. "Roullande, prepare shrapnell shells and aim at the personal operating that gun." "Yes sir!" "You may fire, once you are re-" Christopher didnt get to finish his sentence as a loud bang could be heard from the fortress' courtyard. Christopher flinched. This gun must pack some serious punch. "Just shoot at the damn thing!" Roullande chuckled while he adjusted the gun, firing shortly after. The first shot was a direct hit on what seemed to be the commander of the howitzer. The second one sent some of the gun crew flying, or at least parts of them. But the third shot...the third shot was one Christopher regretted. The third round exploded and in a chain reaction, the entire area around the gun was engulfed by explosion due to nearby ammunition. Once he looked back at the courtyard after instibctively taking cover, he was greeted with a burning wreckage where the howitzer had been…


	8. Chapter 8 - Aftermath

March 12th 1935, Fortress Premsel

"Gentleman, i have superb news. Not only were we able to capture this fortress and most of its supplies, as an added bonus, the majority of the secret documents regarding imperial plans and troop movements from the last month came into our possession. This means, that we know the rough location of each major imperial unit up to March 9th. Nonetheless, our task is not finished yet. We have yet to capture the industrial sectors of Kijell to further hinder the imperial war effort. Any questions?" Harold asked while he looked around the room. He knew fully well nobody would ask a question until the discussion for the next operation started. "Dismissed. Oh, and Machlot, try to find out if we can recover the howitzer. Three other ones got encountered by different units and the one here seems to have taken the least amount of damage. If we get into a better shape, it would be a nice display piece for HQ." Harold waited two minutes for everyone to leave before he focussed on the map again. Kijell, due to its significant industrial capacities, will probably get defended like a proper fortress, … almost impossible to capture without heavy artillery... HQ would probably understand the need for a bit more firepower…

March 12th 1935, Imperial Airship LS-04 "Schuttlanz"

Valentin looked down. Three, maybe four kilometers were between him and the ground. The chief engineer had told him that that so far "only" one of the LT-II-class air ships had crashed, but that hadn't really helped much. There was still something unsettling about this height. At least combined with the fact that there was no solid ground under his feet. He took a deep breath before returning to the officers table. Colonel Lindtmann was discussing something with presumably the captain of the air ship, whom he recognized as the Commander he had seen in the supply base a few days earlier. Some other officers seemed to play a card-game he didnt recognize while Kehlers was sitting away from everyone else, reading a book. Valentin had taken a glance at the title and it seemed to be a fantasy novel about a flying fortress, based on the title. As much as he would have preferred being with his men, he knew, that it was rather unlikely to be permitted. Noncommissioned officers were almost like a different "class" after all, at least in the eyes of most officers. He eventually opted with sitting with Lindtmann and the other officer. "May i join in?" "Of course. I was just talking with Commander Strais about some of the recent developments on the front. It appears, that the Federation has started a series of offensives practically everywhere. The spearhead of the attack seems to be headed by some units from Edinburgh." Colonel Lindtmann said. "Oh, this is actually a good opportunity to tell the Commander about your experiences. You lived there for a while until last year, if i recall correctly." "Of course. I mean, i wouldn't really call myself an expert, but i was able to get an impression of a couple of things." Valentin gulped. He always had felt a bit like he had been sent there to spy… maybe he should leave out certain things…

April 20th 1934, Brinckman Barracks, Hadleigh, United Kingdom of Edinburgh

Valentin sighed as he looked down the balcony. He wasn't exactly made for this type of events. Not that he didn't appreciate the invitation to this… what was this actually? A dinner party? A ceremony in honour tonight's special guest? Some other festivity? He didn't actually know. And where the hell did Justin go? He knew that Valentin would be lost without him. At least he didn't stand out too much, so the probability of anyone chatting him up was rather slim. Maybe if he just kept staying away from the more crowded places…which would mean that he wouldn't be able go to the buffet, so that might not be the best idea either…

Wait, was that Justin over there? He walked towards a group of people at a small bar table next to a staircase. Jep, definitely Justin. He was accompanied by three men, two of which were wearing mess dress uniforms. Valentin got a bit closer and waved at Justin to signal him that he was there. in return, Justin gestured him to come over to them, which prompted the three men to turn around. "Oh, look whos joining us. Gentlemen, may i introduce you to Captain Martinek? Captain Martinek, these are Colonel Biraul and Lieutenant Colonel Vismare from the 5th Grenadiers and Mr. Sanders from the Forus National Arms Factory. We were just discussing what is the logical next step in the evolution of artillery. Mr. Sanders here believes that the gun itself has to become more mobile." "That is indeed correct. With the shift of warfare into a more mobile direction, lightweight weapon systems will eventually become the norm." the man said. "Oh. Interesting that you mention that. Captain Martinek is sort of an expert on this topic, given his field of specialisation." Justin explained. "Oh is that so?" the civilian, Mr. Sanders asked. "Care to elaborate?" "Well, you see…" Valentin began, but one of the other two officers interrupted him before he could finish.

"Excuse me Captain, but what exactly is your specialisation?" Valentin gulped. Exactly this type of conversation is what he was trying to avoid. "Well, i am an artillery officer. Mountain artillery to be specific…" "Mountain Artillery?" The man then asked, visibly confused. "I don't recall ever hearing of any mountain artillery units in our army…" "Oh, that reminds that i forgot to mention it. Captain Martinek is the Empires military attache assigned to the Federation. He has only been in our lovely country for a month though, before that he spent most of his time in continental Europa."

Justin explained. The officer, seemingly surprised, was about to say something before he would in turn get interrupted by Mr. Sanders. "The Empire, huh? Well, if you don't mind, let's engage in a little thought experiment, shall we…?"


	9. Chapter 9 - Festivities

April 20th 1934, Brinckman Barracks, Hadleigh, United Kingdom of Edinburgh

Valentin nodded. "Sure, go ahead." The other man grinned. "This is great. Well then Gentlemen…" he said as he turned towards the two men again. "Do you want to give your input as well?" The older of the two, Colonel Biraul if he remembered correctly, turned towards the other officer. "Lieutenant Colonel, woild you be so kind and fetch us some drinks." "Of course. Ill get the usual." Lieutenant Colonel Vismare nodded and walked off. Colonel Biraul then turned back towards the other man. "Well, if it assists you in your research, i have no issue with discussing such matters." Mr. Sanders seemed delighted. "Perfect. Very well then… Captain Martinek, would you be so kind to elaborate on what a Mountain gun is? I must admit that i have never heard this term before." Valentin then thought for a second. "To give a brief description, it is a rather lightweight gun…" "Oh, like those infantry guns that were popular in the trench warfare in the Great War?" the man then asked. "Well, not really. They are designed to be taken appart into smaller parts for easier transportation. Not into all their individual pieces of course, things like the carriage can get broken down into smaller loads to enable the gun crew to carry them around." "Oh, so like a pack-gun. I must admit that we tried something similar to make artillery pieces able to be dropped from small airships via a parachute. We dropped this idea in favour of a different, more promising method though." The man explained. He sounded rather enthusiastic, as if this was a passion project of his. "Right now we are working together with some promising students from several universities to make it possible to give the firepower of light howitzers to a single soldier. It will be.."

"Thats complete and utter nonsense!" exclaimed Colonel Biraul. "Even if you succeed with the weight reduction, you wont be able to fully replicate all the capabilities of howitzers. The future of artillery lies in a different direction. Not in some concept that might not even work. Just wait and see…" Mr. Sanders just grinned while he looked at Valentin. "Well, the Federation might not be a country in the literal sense, but you know what they say…"A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country"… anyways Captain Martinek, what is your view on this idea we are working on?" "To be honest, if it works, that might be a good thing. You cant exactly use siege artillery in mountain warfare, so if the lighter guns get replaced by essentially a "One-Man-Artillery-Piece", thats more than fine by me." "Im pretty sure the average artilleryman will be thankful as well." Justin added which caused the other man to laugh. "Well said Lieutenant Mackingam." Mr. Sanders replied before he seemed to notice someone on the other side of the room.

"Well then, it was a pleasure to meet you gentlemen, but it seems i have some business to attend to…i hope you can excuse me for the rest of the evening." The man then shook each of their hands before he headed towards a man near near the entrance. "Well, as…. pleasant as it was, i think i have to depart as well. You two probably have other things to do... Captain Martinek, Lieutenant Mackingam." the Colonel saluted, not even waiting for Valentin to follow suit before he walked off. "So...you probably wonder what that just was…" Justin began. Valentin already had an idea. "Let me guess...Ternick…" "Exactly. July 1913. His brother if i remember correctly." "In retrospective, i should have probably changed to my mothers name." Valentin said jokingly. "No shit...anyways, how about we get ourselves some snacks?" Justin then suggested. "The chef responsible for the catering makes the greatest Croquembouche in all of Europa….or so ive heard." "That sounds tempting. I never actually got around to trying them so far…" Just as they were about to go towards the buffet, Justin stopped for a second. "Oh, i almost forgot...You remember how the higher ups arranged at visit to the Conqueror?" "Uhm… yes? I mean, dont get me wrong, it was a fairly pleasant evening, but if i have to drink with 80% of a cruisers officers again, at least teach me some songs first." Valentin replied. "Noted. No, nothing like that. I was told that some of the higher ups would like to show you a training exercise of a new unit. Its basically the pride of the army and you know how the current chief of staff likes to show off…" Justin grinned while he took out a letter. "And as the current LO assigned to the military attaché, i have to attend as well, so ill get to enjoy the show too." he added before handing the letter to Valentin. "Besides, who knows, maybe i see someone from my days back in the academy. Havent seen any of them in ages… especially if its Victoria… i heard she volunteered for the Ranger Course only a month or so after entry." Valentin couldnt help but grin. From what he had heard, this Victoria-Person had been the best student of the academy during Justins time there. Perfect in every regard, even when it came to organizing her locker according to the layout they were suppossed to have. Valrntin suspected that he had a crush on her, but of course he couldnt just flat out ask Justin. "Well, maybe you will see her, maybe you wont. But i think there are more pressing matters at the moment. Didn't someone suggest that we had to the buffet?"


	10. Chapter 10 - The road ahead

March 12th 1935, Imperial Airship LS-04 "Schuttlanz"  
“Well, the military of the federation isn't as well standardized as ours. While an infantry platoon from Wese might not be able to stand up to ours when it comes to raw firepower, the typical infantry platoon from Assen usually has an unusually large amount of support weapons attached to them." "Interesting. But i think that is common knowledge by now…." the Lieutenant Colonel replied while he scratched his neck. "I meant more regarding tactics, potential combat strength and similar things." "Oh. That. Well, their logistical system is less bloated compared to ours. While our troops have some sort of supply-unit attached to them,starting at the regiment level, most units in the federation have no dedicated supply-company or anything like that. Instead most of the armies have a dedicated supply-brigade which is tasked with conducting supply operations on a larger scale by setting up supply bases large enough to support entire battle groups, sometimes even army groups. From there, the supplies get distributed to the smaller units via the Federations Transportation Corps ." The Commander just nodded while he took a sip from his glass. Valentin took a breath before continuing. "Due to the high grade of motorisation, it is rather easy to keep the troops supplied, even if the supply base is several kilometers away from the front. In the Kingdom of Edinburgh for example, around a half of their infantry was motorised or mechanized from what i have seen. The sole exception is the Republic of Arion. Their basic supply structure was more akin to ours, when i was there. Even though they were in the process of switching to the standard federation system, i highly doubt they were able to fully change it, considering they are more conservative than most of the nations within the Federation. So if there were any changes, i doubt they would be substantial enough for the new system to be fully operational yet. They are rather fond of using horses for transportation and they are still clinging onto their cavalry, so rapid motorization is unlikely." "Thank you for your insight Major. Would you mind writing that down so our radio officer can transmit a message to the General Staff?" The Commander then asked. "There is no need for that. It was already included in the report i had to file in after my return in which i had to make an assessment about the Federations capabilities in case of war."  
"Huh...well, what was your assessment Major? If you don't mind me asking, of course." Seems like something had caught the Commanders interest. "I argued that a war with the federation has to be ended quickly or else there will be a similar situation like during the Great War. If the Federation was able to fully mobilize, a long drawn out and bloody war can't be prevented." Colonel Lindtmann just grunted at that."Well, if that ain't the bloody truth… sucks that that is exactly what happened…. Commander, would you mind going for a smoke with me?" Colonel Lindtmann then stood up, followed by the commander. "Of course, lets stop by at my quarters so i can grab my pipe. Don't you want to join us Major Martinek?" "No, thanks, i don't smoke." Valentin replied. Alone again. He looked around before getting up and heading towards his quarters. "I wonder when we will reach our destination…" He said to himself as he opened the door and sat down on his back while he took a look at a photograph. 

March 14th 1935, Imperial countryside  
Rain. To make things worse, it also had to rain. The roads were already poor enough, in Christopher's opinion. At least they would reach the railway station soon, from there, they would move as close as possible to the front. They just had to arrive at and capture the industrial center of Kijell before the 30th. The Major had told him that until that date, they would receive support by heavy field artillery as a battery of heavy field howitzers and field guns had been assigned to them for this timeframe. Afterwards they would be transferred back to the the southern part of the center front.  
Kijell… capturing it would seal a severe blow to the empire. Not only was it a rather large city, it also was quite a significant industrial center in the region. Capturing it would probably cause supply issues for a while. Once they met up with the 12th Infantry Brigade and the 2 Republican Guard Regiments from Roseleare, their numbers should be enough to besiege the city. And with the heavy artillery supporting their advance, the siege might even be over pretty fast In the center, the 1st Battle Brigade was rapidly advancing according to the newspapers, so that should be the main front for imperial forces for now.  
Suddenly the vehicle came to a sudden stop. "What's the matter?" Christopher asked. "Look ahead Lieutenant Thorn. Roads blocked." came the reply from the driver. He wasn't wrong. In the middle of the road stood the wreckage of an imperial tank. Probably blown up to avoid capture. "Well, drive around then. Or use the winch to pull it off the road." "And risk sinking in? Ain't gonna do that. This baby wasn't built for driving through mud." Christopher sighed. "What would you suggest then?" The driver reached into his breast pocket and fished out a misshaped cigarette while he searched for what Christopher guessed was a lighter. "I don't know. Get your tank, i would guess. That one at least should be able to get out of that mess without help." Christopher let out another sigh. "Very well then…" he said as he knocked against the back of the cabin. One of the soldiers jumped out of the back and ran towards him. "Yes, Lieutenant?" "Get to the back and tell Sergeant Foucault that we need her over here with the "Roller"." "Yes Lieutenant." The man replied before running back. Christopher already felt sorry for the guy. Bridget was definitely going to hate this and knowing her, she would audibly voice her complaints...


	11. Chapter 11 - The Beginning

March 20th 1935, outskirts of Kijell

Christopher looked through his binoculars. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the usual activity, from what he could see. Smoke was coming out of a hole in the roof of one of the ruined buildings, which meant the men in there had started a fire to cook their food or heat some water. He lowered his binoculars and crawled back to his trench. This whole siege certainly could have gone better. The enemy was showing no signs of attempting to evacuate his position. So far, they had put up fierce resistance, especially in the northern sector. But to his surprise, there had been a few minor successes there regardless. When the commander of the Guard-Unit had told him, that they would definitely be the first to enter, he hadn't lied. "You'll see",he had said. "My boys and girls are so stealthy, the Imps won't even know from where we shot at them." Originally, Christopher had assumed that the Roselearean Republican Guard would be just a bunch of people who had no other experience than exercising, and marching in parades since he had heard that they mostly played a ceremonial role when important visitors arrived. But then it had turned out that they probably had a better training in urban combat environments than any other unit he had seen so far.

The siege artillery on the other hand, originally thought to be their trump card in the upcoming battle, had proven to be rather ineffective thus far. The overall commander of the siege, some brigadier from northern Sneek, who had done some heroic deeds during the first war from what he had heard, had given the order to cease fire with them due to the fact that the city was still full of civilians and collateral damage was to be avoided. Which meant that not only would the enemy continue with the production of ammunitions, they would also receive a steady supply of various weapons. And now there was no way to stop it until the factories got either captured or destroyed. Or until they ran out of steel and the other necessary resources. But unless that happens, the factories enabled the enemy to effectively resupply their units with ammunition almost on a daily basis…

After a quick look at the map, Christopher then noticed something. The sewers. Traversing them would probably pretty unsanitary, but if undertaken at night, maybe some smaller teams consisting of two to three men could sneak in and sabotage the production lines. First said plan would have to get approval of course, which might be a problem due to the possible collateral damage. Reaching the safety of the trench, Christopher rolled in and took a sip from his canteen before he made his way back to the head quarters of the 4th Infantry Battalion.

March 23rd 1935, Headquarters of the Northern Army Group, Terapol

So these were the famous men of the 12th Armoured Royal Cavalry Regiment. After hearing of their heroic deeds, Valentin had been curious about how they looked like and what their equipment was like. Skanderfjäll was one of the few nations in Europa he had not visited yet, after all. And now they stood there in front of him, clad in their light brown uniforms while they were working on one of their tanks. The tank itself was rather impressive, around the size of the Light Tank, but it sported a rather large turret on its hull. Of course Valentin wasn't the only one who was taking a look at the unfamiliar sight. There were several people who stood around and just stared at the foreign soldiers, a couple of them even had tried to engage in conversations with them, but soon a problem had emerged in form of a language barrier. From what Valentin had been able to observe, one of the non-commissioned officers was able to talk to them, though his grammar could need some work. But for a short conversation, it seemed to be enough. If Valentin had to take a guess, he would say that he probably had taken a few lessons in back school. He had experienced a similar thing during his time in the Federation. Luckily he had been able to relearn enough to not resort to the liaison officers translating for him. Except for that time in Wese. But that hadn't count in his opinion.

After a while, one of the officers seemed to notice him and gestured for him to come over to him. While he walked towards him, Valentin tried to figure out which rank he had… two stars inside the pentagon… no, not stars, Captain Witterer had told him those are flowers… probably a Lieutenant. He probably should salute first just in case though, better to be safe than sorry. Once he was a few steps away from the man, Valentin stopped, saluted and waited on his reaction. He would salute in return, just in a way Valentin hadn't seen before. He kept his elbow close to his body and had his hand angled slightly forward. After a while, he stopped, to which Valentin stopped as well and shouted something towards a group of non-commissioned officers near a fire. One of them got up and headed towards them. Probably so he translated it. The two men exchanged a few words and the NCO seemed to think for a few seconds before he turned towards Valentin. "Lieutenant Wemstedt want to know what branch. Dont know colour." "Pardon?" The man seemed to think about what to say before he pointed to his collar. "Oh. The colour of the Collar tabs. Mountain Artillery." Valentin replied. The NCO again took some minutes before he translated it for the Lieutenant, who in return looked at Valentin before he began to talk again. He would unfortunately get cut short as Valentin heard someone in the distance. "Major Martinek!" "Over here, Corporal" Valentin turned around. "What's the matter?" "Urgent business. Lieutenant Colonel Lindtmann was searching for you." Corporal Bauer replied while he tried to squeeze his way between a truck and some crates. Valentin turned towards the two men from Skanderfjäll again. "Tell the Lieutenant that i unfortunately have to go." he said before he headed towards Corporal Bauer. "Let's not keep the Lieutenant Colonel waiting." he thought to himself.


End file.
